AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Oh, yeah? Anything good?”
“Very good,” I said, feeling the heat spread through me.
Vince waggled his brows. “Do tell.”
“I was thinking I might show you.”
He rubbed his palms together with a Cheshire grin.
“Later!” I squealed when he came close enough to snatch me up.
“Later,” he said. His flirty intonation made my chest, neck, and cheeks flare up with desire. “I’m off to Dr. Farris,” he said.
“Are you doing hypnosis again?”
He shrugged and avoided meeting my eyes. “Probably. I don’t know.”
“Okay. See you when you get home.”
He kissed me and headed to the car. I ran inside to Hudson. Vince was bashful about hypnosis. He wasn’t embarrassed for me to know, but I knew he didn’t want it to get out to his friends. I didn’t think they would make fun of him, but he was adamant about it staying between us. Dutifully, I kept the information to myself.
I read Hudson a story, fed him lunch, and settled onto the couch with him for a movie. When he finally shut his eyes, I took him to his room and tucked him in with his favorite monkey. I restarted the movie and closed my eyes. I wasn’t asleep for very long when I heard the sandpapery sound of Vince sanding something outside.
“What’s this?” I asked, clutching the baby monitor in my hand. The porch swing was on the garage floor, and Vince was sanding it like a man possessed.
“This thing has seen better days.” He grunted between his words.
“Vince, it’s fine.”
“Are you kidding?” His voice rose to a shout. “The paints chipped. The wood needs to be properly sealed. That chain! Have you seen it? Rusted and disgusting.”
“I should have taken better care of it. It rained a lot last year, and I never covered it. I’m sorry, baby.”
“Why the hell are you apologizing? You’re not the fucking idiot who left! Left you with this mess. Left you to take care of every fucking thing in this house. And on top of that, you were pregnant. You went through all of that by yourself. Because I wasn’t fucking here! And you had to be a single mom and do everything on your own. Because I had to leave. I wasn’t here. I wasn’t fucking here for any of it.”
I wanted to break down and cry when he lashed out. But I knew he wasn’t mad at me. He was angry with himself. I didn’t utter a peep during his rant. His chest heaved up and down with heavy breaths. He threw the sander down and wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. When he finally looked at me, his eyes were full of shame and regret. “I’m sorry,” he choked out.
“Oh, Vince, baby.” I knelt on the floor, dropped the monitor, and wrapped him in my arms.
He sniffled. “I’m so sorry, baby. You don’t deserve an asshole like me.”
“For better or worse, remember?”
I felt his nod. “Yeah,” he sighed. “I didn’t mean for you to take the brunt of it.”
“I think maybe . . . this was long overdue.” I leaned back and looked at my strong warrior, who was breaking apart in front of me. “You’ve been wound up too tight, honey.”
“Yeah, I guess.”
“Did something happen with Dr. Farris?”
“No. Same shit, different day.”
“It’s been a long, tough road. And you’ve fought hard. You got me. You have your parents . . . Pete . . . and . . . Hudson. I know he’s just a baby, but he loves you to the moon and back. We all do.” I stroked the side of his face with my fingers.
“I just feel so lost sometimes. Why’s it so damn hard, Hailey?”
“I don’t know, baby. But it’s gotta get easier from here, right?” When he shrugged, I imagined him when he was a little boy. “We are all here for you. When you’re feeling lost, hurt, or angry, remember we’ll help you find a way out of it.”
